TRIP INITIATIVE
  • Home
    • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • ALUMNI GALLERY
    • Ursinus 2015
    • Temple 2015
    • WTHS 2016
    • Temple 2016
    • WTHS 2017
    • Temple 2017
    • WTHS 2018
    • Temple 2018
    • WTHS 2019
    • Temple 2019
    • WTHS 2020
    • WTHS 2021
    • Temple 2021
    • WTHS 2022
    • Temple 2022
  • Apply to TRIP
  • Donate

Regular updates from students in TRIP

Farewell, TRIP by David Benjamin

9/26/2022

0 Comments

 
I’m sad to say that my time at TRIP has finally come to an end. I won’t lie; on the first day of the program, I wasn’t sure whether I would enjoy my Tuesday and Thursday mornings at Temple University. I was bombarded with new information and felt challenged while learning about drug stock dilutions. However, as the program shifted focus towards our independent projects and I started to make friends with my amazing TRIP-mates, I began to have so much fun.
Picture
Picture
Picture
For my independent project, I wanted to research the effects of certain ingredients in pre-workout, an exercise supplement that I often take when I’m tired before a workout. With the plethora of “energy-providing” ingredients in pre-workout (often upwards of 5 or 10), I was curious how much (if at all) each component contributed to an energized workout. I decided to focus on L-Citrulline, an amino acid naturally found in watermelon that, if taken, supposedly helps deliver more oxygen to your muscles through the dilation of blood vessels. However, little research supports its effectiveness, which made it a great candidate for my project. To measure the energy level of non-supplemented flies, caffeine-supplemented flies (which acted as a positive control), and flies that took L-Citrulline, I performed the Negative Geotaxis Assay. This assay measures fly locomotion by determining how high each fly climbs in the span of 3 seconds. After 5 repetitions, I found that flies that took L-Citrulline had significantly higher energy levels than those that took caffeine and those that did not consume any supplements. I also performed this assay on sleep-deprived flies, but L-Citrulline did not seem to provide them any extra energy.
With some extra time in the lab, I also sought to compare the anxiety level of L-Citrulline supplemented flies with caffeine supplemented flies since I often find myself feeling anxious after consuming caffeinated drinks. After 3 repetitions, I found that L-Citrulline may cause non-sleep deprived fruit flies to be less anxious than their caffeine-consuming counterparts. I was very happy with my results and now look for pre-workout products with higher L-Citrulline content.
Picture
I am so glad that I decided to apply to TRIP because it was so much more than just a lab. I will say that anyone looking to apply to TRIP in the future should expect a grind: completing homework packets, staying late to sort flies, repeating an experiment because you missed an important step, etc. But in the end, I left with invaluable hands-on experience, confidence to pursue a STEM-related career in the future, and countless memories (most notably getting food from the food trucks at Temple every day with one of my friends I made at TRIP). I even sharpened skills such as communication, creativity, and problem-solving that will undoubtedly translate to areas other than STEM. Overall, I feel super rewarded with my experience and could not think of a better way to spend my summer. Thank you to Dr. Leystra, Ms. P, Diya, my TRIP-mates, and everyone else who made TRIP such a great experience for me.
Picture
0 Comments

The End of a Memorable TRIP! by Tejasvi Pathipati

9/24/2022

0 Comments

 
Wow. It’s hard to believe how fast this TRIP has gone by! Coming into the lab twice a week for 5 weeks seemed like a lot when we first started, but now the program has come to a close and the final presentation is less than a week away. It feels like just yesterday I was walking into the lab for the first time, eager and ready to do real scientific research. I never would have imagined that in just 5 weeks I would be able to sort flies according to their gender, make grape plates, perform assays, and take microscopic fly pictures! Thank you to Dr. Leystra, Ms. Pellegrin, and Diya as they helped me perform my assays efficiently.
Picture
Now let's catch up on everything I’ve been doing for the past 5 Tuesdays and Thursdays in the lab. I have finally started conducting my research for my independent project. Over the past few weeks, I have been exploring the effects of Lipitor (cholesterol medication) on fruit fly energy and overall health. Lipitor became an interest of mine because of how many people have high cholesterol and take Lipitor to lower it. Around 38% of the population has high cholesterol and 11% take Lipitor! But what happens when someone continues to take Lipitor after regulating their cholesterol to a normal level? This is precisely what I wanted to test on my fruit flies. Since fruit flies already have normal levels of cholesterol, introducing Lipitor into their diet would essentially be the same as a person taking Lipitor when their cholesterol is in a normal range. 
Picture
Now let's catch up on everything I’ve been doing for the past 5 Tuesdays and Thursdays in the lab. I have finally started conducting my research for my independent project. Over the past few weeks, I have been exploring the effects of Lipitor (cholesterol medication) on fruit fly energy and overall health. Lipitor became an interest of mine because of how many people have high cholesterol and take Lipitor to lower it. Around 38% of the population has high cholesterol and 11% take Lipitor! But what happens when someone continues to take Lipitor after regulating their cholesterol to a normal level? This is precisely what I wanted to test on my fruit flies. Since fruit flies already have normal levels of cholesterol, introducing Lipitor into their diet would essentially be the same as a person taking Lipitor when their cholesterol is in a normal range. 

Picture
I set up one control group and four experimental conditions (10mg concentration,20mg concentration, 40mg concentration, and 80mg concentration), and flies were fed for 7 days. On the seventh day, fly energy and activity were measured using the Negative Geotaxis assay. 10 flies from each condition were transferred to 5 different empty vials with 8 marks 1 mm apart. As part of the Negative Geotaxis Assay, the vial tapped on the table thrice and a picture was taken three seconds after the last tap. During the data analysis, I counted how many flies crawled above the 4mm mark. Unexpectedly, flies that consumed 40 mg and 80mg concentration of Lipitor were the most active than the control group. 
These past 5 weeks taught me to have a greater appreciation for the scientific research involved in testing the side effects of widely used drugs. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to conduct my research from start to finish and work alongside some of the best people I’ve met: My TRIP Family! I am looking forward to applying the skills I learned in my future endeavors. This may be the end of an amazing TRIP, but it’s certainly not the end of mine!
0 Comments

TRIP into a Whole New World by Shawnette James

9/23/2022

0 Comments

 
Hi again! I can’t believe that TRIP has ended. It has been a great experience learning from Dr. Leystra and Ms. Pellegrin, and learning about my classmates and their projects. I never thought that in such a short period of time I would have completed such a project.
Picture
Picture
For my independent project, I wanted to see if caffeine and/or melatonin would affect the energy levels of flies, and then if they would affect the energy levels of sleep deprived flies. I based the dosage of caffeine and melatonin off of the recommended doses for humans, and I deprived my flies of sleep by placing them under a lamp, making sure they were not exposed to darkness. In order to test their energy levels, I used the Negative Geotaxis Assay. This assay tracks the energy levels of flies by tracking the distance that they travel in an empty vial. In order to perform this assay, you place flies in an empty vial marked from zero to eight centimeters, tap the vial onto a table three times, and then record the distances traveled after three seconds. 
Picture
After replicating my experiment four times, I found that caffeine had the greatest effect on the energy levels of the flies. This was expected, as we know that caffeine gives humans an energy boost. What I found especially interesting was that the flies that were fed caffeine in their food and deprived of sleep had higher energy levels than those that were well rested and had caffeine.
Picture
I really enjoyed TRIP because it allowed me to conduct research on something that I was interested in. I think research is pretty cool, but when you combine it with a topic that relates to you or that you’re really passionate about, I believe that it can be really rewarding.  ​
0 Comments

The Final Arc of my TRIP by Peter Yang

9/21/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
My time at TRIP has almost come to an end now. However, the lessons learned during this program will stay with me forever. Reflecting on the five weeks I spent at TRIP, I want to call out two learnings that have given me an entirely new perspective and a deeper appreciation of what research really is.
Picture
First, research is really about trial-and-error; and in rare cases, one would have "all the stars aligned' to have the right hypothesis, right experiment design and tools such as right essays and right data generated to inform a conclusion. This process requires deep knowledge, innovative thinking and lots, lots of iterations and patience to develop learnings and new approaches. This is a new dimension of research work that I came to learn first hand and greatly appreciate.

​
Second, what comes with iteration is the agility to go after a new direction that may suggest a bigger potential for success. For my project, I wanted to look into sleep deprivation and its impact on metabolism (leading to metabolic diseases such as obesity). What I learned quickly was that measuring metabolism in the flies required specific equipment and reagents that were in shortage at that moment. After some good brainstorms with my advisor, we were able to shift the research question to the impact of mental state by sleep deprivation, which I was able to explore with experiments. In my case, agility to change worked for my project but it may very well be a challenge in actual research, for example, if the researcher has invested so much thinking, time or other resources into the research concept. My learning is that one has to be quick to change the approach in research regardless of what was invested before (for example, I really liked my original idea and wanted to hang on to it).
TRIP was an amazing experience. Going to the lectures and running my experiments at the lab was something I really looked forward to every Tuesday and Thursday.  I live in the suburbs and I took the train to Temple which worked perfectly for me. I am very grateful to many - I wanted to thank Dr. Leystra and Ms. Pellegrine for helping guide me throughout my project and coaching me for my poster and final presentation. I also wanted to give a shout-out to my TRIP peers for making this one of the best experiences for me!
Picture
0 Comments

My Quest to Discover the Lesser of Two Evils by Charity Robbins

9/20/2022

0 Comments

 
Hello Everyone! It has been a few weeks since I’ve last updated you all on my experience in TRIP so far. My gosh! The weeks have just been flying by. I have had so much fun getting to know everyone and making new friends. The people in my session truly add to the likability of the overall experience. We have learned so many useful lab, communication, and collaborative skills so far in so little time. I am honestly shocked! I am just now finishing up on my introductory experiment which focused on how female fertility is impacted by Black Cohosh and a High Sugar Diet. The experiment was really helpful in allowing me to gain familiarity in the lab setting that we work in. I was introduced to how to quantify and analyze data, new assays, as well as how to communicate my findings effectively. While conducting research on an experiment assigned by the instructors was definitely both exciting and challenging, it made me very happy to begin doing research on a topic of my own choosing.
We have learned so many useful lab, communication, and collaborative skills so far in so little time.
Picture
The project that I decided on focuses on the effects that Coca-Cola and its “healthier” counterpart Coke Zero has on cognitive memory. While these two things may seem completely unrelated to some, I actually did some research and discovered that there are many studies linking them together. According to studies, consumers of sugary beverages such as Coca-Cola are more likely to have poor memory compared to others because of its excessive amount of high fructose corn syrup.  Now, I may not have chosen this topic if I hadn’t learned that diet soda isn’t any better for your brain than normal soda. As a new self proclaimed coke zero aficionado, these articles were absolutely terrifying and brought me to ultimately choosing what to study for my independent project! If my evidence points to this being true, it could be absolutely awful for the average American which drinks about 45 gallons of soda a year.
Picture
Picture
Today in the lab, we actually began working on our projects. I am using 5 different vials with varying conditions. One vial includes no soda, two contain the equivalent of ~ 2 cans of coke/coke zero a day, and the final two has ~12 cans of coke/ coke zero per day.

​Truthfully, I am hoping that Coke Zero has no significant impact on memory. But if it does, perhaps I will stick to the occasional regular Coke. I may even just cut out Coke and sugary drinks all together and enjoy some good, reliable, and refreshing water!


0 Comments

Fruit Fly Frenzy by Shawnette James

9/20/2022

0 Comments

 
The first couple weeks  of TRIP have been an experience like no other. It’s been fun getting to know everyone and learning more about them. I thought that conducting our introductory experiments was quite interesting because it allowed us to get familiar with things like making fly food, learning about different ways that we could stress our flies, and exploring the development of the flies. Fly development has been cool to experience because you’re watching a whole cycle of life unfold. ​
Picture
Picture

I think my favorite part of the program so far has been the start of our independent projects. I enjoy that we are able to use our own interests to create projects that we are passionate about and can share with others. In my introductory experiment I performed a Negative Geotaxis Assay, which basically measures the distance traveled of the fruit flies. It is an experiment that is used to quantify a fly’s locomotion or activity, and after completing this I knew I wanted to look into locomotion for my independent experiment.
I decided to see if caffeine and/or melatonin would increase the energy levels of fruit flies after they have been deprived of sleep. I chose this for my project because I commonly face the circumstances of being sleep deprived and trying to wake myself up with coffee, or being unable to sleep and having to take melatonin. I know that I am not the only one who goes through things like this, and I wanted to see if these two drugs would increase the energy of the flies. I believe it is a common and relatable topic, but it has not been tested on fruit flies yet, so I would like to see what could come of this project. I will be feeding my fruit flies caffeine and melatonin separately first, then combining the two drugs. Then I will repeat this process but expose these flies to constant light. I’m excited to see how everything turns out!
Picture
0 Comments

Gingko to green tea, I can't wait to see where TRIP takes me! by Ashli Lao

9/16/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Welcome back! Much has happened in the past few weeks and time is flying by. Of course, one of the most important lessons learned: make ‘fly’ or ‘trip’ puns whenever possible. In all seriousness, TRIP has been an experience unlike any other. One minute I’m bonding with friends over books, music, and food, and the next I’m screaming because I accidentally released my fruit flies from its vial. Pro-tip: make sure you hold the plug when injecting your flies with CO2!
Picture
Sorting fruit flies was one of the first hands-on experiences we were introduced to. At first, it was nerve wracking watching the timer count down from fifteen minutes as I poked the flies with a paintbrush. Although, I very quickly got the hang of it and soon was able to sort two vials in the fifteen minute time frame allotted for the flies to safely inhale carbon dioxide
In my introductory experiment, I tested the impact of ginkgo biloba and head trauma on fruit fly mood with the social space assay. After taking pictures of the flies in small chambers, I used the computer program ImageJ to quantify the distance between flies and determine their mood. While brainstorming for my independent project, I considered studying anxiety with a similar assay, but ultimately landed on a different focus after further discussion with my peers and instructors. Specifically, I am interested in studying how hormonal birth control affects metabolism and weight gain and whether green tea can counteract these effects. Hormonal birth control pills have a multitude of side effects, yet many do not have significant statistical evidence linking these effects to the birth control medication. 
 I am interested in studying how hormonal birth control affects metabolism and weight gain and whether green tea can counteract these effects.
Picture
I look forward to finding a more clear relationship between hormonal birth control and metabolism through the glucose metabolism assay. Spoiler alert: I will be decapitating my fruit flies!
0 Comments

My Experiences at TRIP! by Megan Xie

9/15/2022

0 Comments

 
Hi guys! The last four days at TRIP have flown by so quickly. In the past two weeks, I worked on my introductory experiment, where I tested the effects of black cohosh and disrupted circadian rhythms on female fly fertility. My female fertility assay showed that constant dark did not affect fertility, but that black cohosh was able to increase the number of embryos per female. I am so glad that fruit flies aren’t very hard to work with. TRIP has developed in me a fascination for the complexity of these organisms despite their small size. It amazes me to see how flies respond to certain drugs or stressors in the same way that humans do. By practicing with the lab equipment, I have also become a lot more confident in the lab.
Picture
 am so happy that I got assigned to Session B. I love everyone’s unique personalities, and even though we have only seen each other for five days, I feel that we have already established a strong friendship with one another. The environment I am in when I enter the TRIP lab inspires me so much, as everyone is extremely kind and smart, and they share the same passion and dedication that I admire, where we often stay up past midnight to get our assignments turned in on time (and not get shamed in class). I came to TRIP in hopes of growing from this experience, and just from listening to everyone present their project proposals on day three and receiving feedback on mine, I have already learned so much that I will keep in mind when preparing for the final symposium

Picture
I chose to test bananas, apples, and grapes, which are high in fiber, sorbitol, and polyphenol, respectively, and a combination of these fruits to see which fruit component plays the most important role in microbiome diversity.
Figuring out exactly what my final project question would be took me quite a while. I remember reading about some of the projects on microbiomes in previous years and knowing at the start of the program that I wanted to test for microbiome diversity. However, I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to test until I came across an article on how poor diet and diet-related diseases are a major health concern in the U.S. Since I am a very picky eater when it comes to fruits, I decided to test how eating a variety of fruits as opposed to one type of fruit will affect the gut microbiota. I chose to test bananas, apples, and grapes, which are high in fiber, sorbitol, and polyphenol, respectively, and a combination of these fruits to see which fruit component plays the most important role in microbiome diversity.
Picture

Yesterday, we began our independent project. From my plan, I estimated that I would have an extra hour to spare. However, I messed up and had to restart when making the fly food, took way longer than expected when sorting 320 flies, completely forgot about collecting developmental data for my introductory project until I began packing up to leave, and ended up staying past 5pm to get my work done. Since I have even more work to do tomorrow, I’m probably going to come a little earlier to get a head start.
TRIP has given me such an invaluable experience to explore my interests in science while also making new friends. I can’t wait to start the microbiome assay, and I’ll keep you updated with my results!
0 Comments

So Far...by Yailis Correa

9/12/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
 These first few weeks at TRIP have been quite interesting. I've learned how to make and dilute solutions, with the help of the amazing Dr. Leystra of course. Coming from lower-income schools, I didn't know a lot of the math I should, and our instructors have been very patient in helping me out. In these first three weeks I've prepared fly food vials, sorted flies into said vials, and ran a Negative Geotaxis Assay on flied who were stressed with soap, as well as flies treated with Vitamin E. These are words I never imagined to come out of my mouth, but I did it! It was a very new experience which I absolutely love.            

 The TRIP program has definitely pushed me past my limits - especially preparing for my independent project. After long consideration, I chose to do my project on whether natural remedies are better than opiates in pain relief. I'd like to see for myself whether flies who have been stressed can perform better under Boswellia (an Indian herb), or Poppy Seed Tea (an opiate). This project really caught my attention because my family and I all take medication for pain, but some are worse than others. Although opiates may take the pain away for a moment, it also can disorient the person, so regardless they'd still be unable to move around fluidly. Natural remedies can relieve the pain without all of the nasty side effects. 
   Besides all of the work, I've also been able to create bonds with some of my peers. We help each other with assignments, we laugh, play and overall have fun! I think bonding with other students in TRIP is essential to our success. Without support it'd be too easy to just give up. I'm grateful for the friends I've made, and excited to get closer to everyone. 
0 Comments

A Long TRIP Ahead! by Samarth Mannikeri

9/12/2022

0 Comments

 
Hello, again, readers! I hope you are having a wonderful day!
Picture
I, on the other hand, have been loving TRIP thus far, and I can’t wait for my Tuesdays and Thursdays to come and meet with my TRIP family! TRIP has been very, very exciting, and I truly enjoy working with Dr. Leystra, the TAs, and my fellow TRIP-mates! From micropipetting liquids to sorting fruit flies, I have been able to learn several things in the past 3 weeks. In fact, I have been able to reduce my fruit fly sorting time from nearly 16 minutes to almost 5-7 minutes, which is quite an accomplishment, especially for a person like me, who is quite messy!
Picture
Currently, we are halfway through our TRIP program (reaching the end of our 3rd week), and it has been quite a rollercoaster, phew! Specifically, I have been working on my introductory project, as I am determining how red clover and sugar affect fertility. In this scenario, my drug was the red clover (which was known to boost fertility), and my stressor was a high sugar diet (which was known to reduce fertility).
To begin, I needed to set up my fertility assay. First, I needed to change the fly vials. This is necessary, as I would only have adult flies in a new vial, and they would not have access to food and would leave all other larvae/pupae in the previous vial. Next, I needed to entice the adult flies to lay embryos by using the flies’ favorite soup– yeast and sour grape plates! After nearly 2 hours of incubation in a dark room with warmer conditions (perfect for mating and laying embryos), we then used a microscope to count the number of embryos that were laid and eventually hatched. This assay was quite fun and interesting; but, although I must admit, it was quite hard and tedious, especially considering the process required to make the sour grape plates.
Picture
Apart from my introductory project, I set out to discover my independent project– something that had been known to affect my life. My family in India despises modern medicine, despite how fast the remedy may be, and they rather depend on naturopathy/allopathy, specifically in terms of ayurvedic medicine. Therefore, I came upon this project to truly see which type of medicine is the most effective and beneficial to humans without many of the widespread side effects. The benefits of homeopathy are quite prevalent and contain much fewer detriments, contrary to allopathy. Additionally, the rise of “Big Pharma”, the large amount of stress and breaks in the US healthcare system, and the rising corruption in the pharmaceutical industry led me to my question:How do Penicillin & Streptomycin (mixture) and Asparagus racemosus (Shatavari) affect fertility and rate of growth, and what does it illustrate in terms of allopathy and homeopathy in its effectiveness as antibiotics?


How does Penicillin & Streptomycin (mixture) and Asparagus racemosus (Shatavari) affect fertility and rate of growth, and what does it illustrate in terms of allopathy and homeopathy in its effectiveness as antibiotics?
This question, as I knew it from the start, was not going to be easy to prove. Additionally, there has not been any forms of research comparing the differences and similarities of a mixture of Penicillin & Streptomycin and Shatavari, as it is quite uncommon. In order to start this project, I needed to establish my main assays, and they include a microbiome assay (quantifying the gut bacteria of flies through the various amounts of antibacterial drugs), a male & female fertility assay (determining the quantity of successful offspring), and an overall growth assay (through an image analysis of the Fiji ImageJ software). With a large number of assays to test and prove my question, I am now ready to start this project in all its entirety!
Picture
Additionally, in conjunction with the TRIP initiative program, I have been able to further become an independent person. From taking the train to walking around the city, I find myself in awe of how wonderful urban life is and how discrete it is to the little suburbia I live in. In the end, I can’t wait to see how well my project goes, and I also can’t wait to update you all on how the project goes! Until next time! ​

0 Comments
<<Previous
Forward>>

    Archives

    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    August 2017
    July 2017

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Blog 1: Introductions!
    Blog 2: Planning An Independent Project
    Blog 3: Reflections

Company

About
Fox Chase Cancer Center

Support

Contact
​Menu
WEBSITE DESIGN INFORMATION:
The TRIP Initiative website was built by Alesandra (Sasha) Temerte (TRIP@TU'17 alum) ​and is not a product of Fox Chase Cancer Center
© COPYRIGHT 2022. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
WEBSITE DESIGN BY ALESANDRA SASHA TEMERTE
LOGO DESIGN BY ARNAV DHINGRA
  • Home
    • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • ALUMNI GALLERY
    • Ursinus 2015
    • Temple 2015
    • WTHS 2016
    • Temple 2016
    • WTHS 2017
    • Temple 2017
    • WTHS 2018
    • Temple 2018
    • WTHS 2019
    • Temple 2019
    • WTHS 2020
    • WTHS 2021
    • Temple 2021
    • WTHS 2022
    • Temple 2022
  • Apply to TRIP
  • Donate